The present invention relates to a support post for use in a system of modular furniture and, more particularly, to a support post which can be used to easily and quickly assemble a support structure for various modular furniture components.
Modular furniture systems are known, and it is typical for such systems to include a number of furniture components which can be mounted onto a support structure. The support posts which typically form part of the support structure for such modular furniture components are often main load bearing members and are therefore frequently bulky, cumbersome, and complex. Such posts can be inconvenient and difficult to transport and can create difficulties during assembly of the support structure.
Previous known modular furniture systems such as the system disclosed in Grund et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,253 have developed a wide number of furniture components which can be installed in the system, but have focused less on the design of the support post in the system. Attempts have been made to design improved support posts, such as the column in Fussler U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,259, but the design disclosed therein is directed more toward providing a raceway for electrical and other cables, and does not effectively address the problem of providing a support post which can be used in a modular furniture system, but which can be easily assembled.
Accordingly, a need exists for a support post which can be easily manufactured at low cost, yet has significant versatility in being easily and quickly incorporated into a support structure for modular furniture and which is capable of being readily connectable to a variety of components in a modular furniture system.